GHANA: INCSR PART I

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ACCRA 002517

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INL, JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS, TREASURY
FOR FINCEN, DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR GH
SUBJECT: GHANA: INCSR PART I

REF: A. STATE 248987

B. STATE 254401

This is post's response to reftel A and is the first draft
for Ghana's 2004 International Narcotics Strategy Control
Report (INCSR). The second part of Ghana's submission for the
2004 INCSR, reporting on money laundering and financial
crimes, will follow septel per reftel B.

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Summary
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1. Ghana takes steps to combat illicit trafficking of
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and has mounted
major efforts against drug abuse. It has active enforcement,
treatment, and rehabilitation programs; however, lack of
resources remains a problem. Ghana-U.S. law enforcement
coordination continued in 2004, and Ghana's law enforcement
agencies took steps to deepen interagency coordination. Ghana
is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

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Status of Country
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2. Ghana is increasingly a transit point for illegal drugs,
particularly cocaine from South America and heroin from
Southeast and Southwest Asia. Europe remains the major
destination, but drugs also flow to South Africa and to North
America. Accra's Kotoka International Airport is increasingly
a focus for traffickers. Ports at Tema and Sekondi are also
used, and border posts at Aflao (TOGO) and Elubo and Sampa
(Cote d'Ivoire) see significant traffic. Nigerian traffickers
continue to strengthen their presence in Ghana as it becomes
a major transportation hub. Trafficking has also fueled
increasing domestic consumption. Cannabis use is increasing
in Ghana, as is local cultivation. The government has mounted
significant public education programs, as well as cannabis
crop substitution programs. Production of precursor
chemicals is not a major problem.

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Country Actions Against Drugs in 2004
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Policy Initiatives
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3. The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) coordinates government
efforts involving counter-narcotics activities. These
activities include enforcement and control, education,
prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and social
re-integration. The NCB's counter-narcotics national
strategy, the &National Plan of Action 1999-20038, was
never implemented due to lack of funding. However, in 2004
the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) financed three
demand reduction projects selected from the National Plan of
Action: 1) training 110 Ghana Education Service counselors
(one per district in the country) on drug abuse prevention;
2) working with the Department of Social Welfare to provide
vocational training to those completing drug treatment
programs; and 3) producing a drug education guide for
teachers throughout the country. Each year since 1999, the
NCB has proposed to amend the 1990 narcotics law to allow
stricter application of bail bond system (i.e., no general
granting of bail when flight is a real possibility; higher
sureties to assure that defendants appear for trial) and to
fund NCB operations using a portion of seized proceeds, but
the Attorney General,s office has not acted on these
proposals.

Accomplishments
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4. Comparing seizure data from the first three quarters of
2003 and 2004 (based on figures from January-September 2004)
reveals that quantities of cocaine, heroin and cannabis
seized have all increased. The number of persons arrested
with heroin and cocaine has also increased in this period,
while the number of people arrested with cannabis decreased.
Overall, 2004 saw the highest number of drug trafficking
arrests on record. The NCB and other law enforcement agencies
continued their successful cooperation with U.S. law
enforcement agencies in 2004, sharing information as well as
preparing to extradite an American citizen and a Ghanaian
citizen to be tried in the United States for narcotics
offenses. In January, the Narcotics Control Board and the
Ghana Police Service Drug Enforcement Unit, aided by British
intelligence, intercepted 588.33 kilograms of cocaine in
Tema, Ghana,s major port city about 20k from the capital
city. The bust was West Africa,s largest ever drug bust. All
six suspects, five of whom were foreign nationals, were
convicted in October and sentenced to significant jail time
with hard labor.


5. The NCB's national drug education efforts continued in
schools and churches, heightening citizens' awareness of the
fight against narcotics and traffickers. On June 27, the NCB
organized an event in Kumasi to highlight drug abuse in Ghana
in conjunction with the UN,s International Day Against Drug
Abuse and Trafficking. At this launch, the UNODC announced
that it would assist Ghana in establishing rehabilitation
centers for drug addicts, and a pilot project in Accra has
since been launched.


6. In October and November 2004, using Department of State
INL funding, ICITAP trainers conducted a four-week
counter-narcotics training in Ghana for thirty officers from
the Ghana Narcotics Control Board, Ghana Police Service,
Ghana Immigration Service, the Customs and Excise Protective
Service, and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. The
train-the-trainer program, conducted in two 2-week sessions,
focused mainly on drug interdiction at air and sea ports and
was declared a highly successful training, receiving
widespread press coverage.

Law Enforcement Efforts
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7. In 2004, Ghanaian law enforcement agencies continued to
conduct joint police-NCB operations against narcotics
cultivators, traffickers, and abusers. NCB agents, who are
not armed, rely upon the police's Criminal Investigative
Division's (CID) narcotics unit in situations requiring armed
force. The drug bust in January (see above) was an example of
such a joint operation. The NCB continued to work with DHL,
UPS, and Federal Express to intercept packages containing
narcotics.


8. The NCB reports a slight drop in the prices of cocaine,
heroin and cannabis from 2003. In 2004, a gram of cocaine
sells for cedis 168,350 ($18.50 at the current exchange rate)
compared to cedis 133,350 ($15.30) in 2003. A cocaine booster
sells for cedis 12,000 ($1.32),while crack cocaine sells for
cedis 5,000 ($.55). A gram of heroin sells for cedis 145,600
($16) compared to 173,550 ($20) in 2003. A heroin booster
sells for cedis 10,000 ($1.10). The price of a small parcel
of cannabis in 2004 is approximately cedis 5,000 ($.55) in
2004, while a wrapper or joint sells for cedis 1,000 ($.11).
There was a sudden increase in the prices of all narcotics
after the January bust (see above),but the prices dropped
again soon afterward.

Corruption
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9. Despite the consistent number of arrests of suspected
narcotics traffickers, Ghana has an extremely low rate of
conviction, which law enforcement officials indicate is
likely due to corruption within the judicial system. As an
example from one region of the country, between 2001 and June
2004, of the 667 cases of drug dealers and traffickers
reported in the Ashanti Region, only 244 persons had been
convicted and sentenced. The backlog of cases pending trial
and the limited resources facing the judiciary remain a
problem in controlling drug trafficking in Ghana. The total
number of arrests made between January and September 2004 was

705. The NCB estimates that the Ashanti Region prosecution
statistics are better than the national average.


10. NCB officials complain that courts often release
suspected smugglers, including foreign nationals, on bail
that is often set at only a tiny fraction of the value of the
drugs found in a suspect's possession. The court requirement
of a surety in addition to bail is often either dropped, or
court registrars will fraudulently use the identical property
as surety for multiple cases. In September, the NCB was
called into contempt of court for withholding the passports
of suspects charged with drug trafficking who had been
released on bail. The NCB retained the passports while they
waited for the Attorney General to file a stay of execution
on the bail, which was ultimately never filed. The NCB
eventually had to turn over the passports on a court order.
At least one of the suspects in this case, a Dutch national,
has since traveled in and out of Ghana while on bail.


11. Unlike in 2003, there were no cases of possible evidence
tampering in 2004.


12. In August 2004, four police officers were arraigned and
charged with taking bribes from drug traffickers in October
2001.No further action was taken on this case in 2004.

Agreements and Treaties
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13. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971
UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972
Protocol. U.S.-Ghana extradition relations are governed by
the 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty, to which Ghana acceded
at independence. Additionally, Ghana is a party to the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol
Agreement, which includes an extradition provision among
member states. In 2003, Ghana signed a bilateral Customs
Mutual Assistance Agreement with the United States.

Cultivation and Production
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14. Cannabis (also known as Indian hemp) is widely cultivated
in rural farmlands. The Volta, Brong-Ahafo, Western, and
Ashanti regions are principal growing areas. Most is consumed
locally; some is trafficked to neighboring and European
countries. Cannabis is usually harvested in September and
October, and law enforcement teams increase their
surveillance and investigation efforts at these times. In
2004, combined NCB and police teams continued to investigate
cannabis production and distribution, and to destroy
cultivated cannabis farms and plants.


15. In February 2003, the NCB implemented a pilot program
designed to reduce the area under cultivation, under which
140 marijuana cultivators volunteered to give up marijuana in
exchange for government assistance with planting and
processing new food crops and immunity from prosecution. The
NCB plans to expand the program to an additional 120 farmers
that have registered for assistance, although the resources
were not available to do so in 2004.

Drug Flow/Transit
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16. Cocaine and heroin are the main drugs that transit Ghana.
Cocaine is sourced mainly from South America and destined for
Europe, while heroin comes mainly from Southeast and
Southwest Asia on its way to Europe and North America.
Cannabis is shipped primarily to Europe, specifically to the
United Kingdom. Narcotics are sometimes repackaged in Ghana
for reshipment, and the most recent trend in concealment
method is in carry-on, wheeled luggage.


17. While in absolute terms, drugs transiting Ghana do not
yet contribute significantly to the supply of drugs to the
U.S. market, Accra is an increasingly important transshipment
point from Africa. There are some indications that direct
shipments into the United States is on the rise. In November,
two alleged leaders of a drug smuggling ring from Ghana were
indicted in Columbus, Ohio for shipping heroin for
distribution across central Ohio, indicating a direct flow of
illicit narcotics from Ghana into the Midwest U.S. Direct
flights from Accra play an important role in the
transshipment of heroin to the U.S. by West African
trafficking organizations. Because of safety problems, the
U.S. FAA imposed a ban in July 2004 on flights into the U.S.
by Ghana,s flagship carrier, the only provider of direct
flights from Ghana to the U.S. However, according to the NCB,
this did not reduce the drug trafficking from Ghana to the
U.S., but re-routed the flow through Europe. The NCB reports
that narcotics air transit through Ghana has reduced somewhat
in favor of land routes to Abidjan, largely due to the
instability in Cote d'Ivoire, which creates more favorable
conditions there for narcotics traffickers. The biggest
challenge in Ghana, however, are the seaports, as most of the
coastal border is unmonitored and entry points are more
porous. According to the NCB, the seaports allow greater
quantities of narcotics to come through at places where there
are weak patrol systems in place.

Domestic Programs
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18. The NCB works with schools, professional training
institutions, churches, local governments, and the general
public to reduce local consumption. The Ministries of Health
and Education further coordinate their efforts through their
representatives on the Board. Board Members and staff
frequently host public lectures, participate in radio
discussion programs, and encourage newspaper articles on the
dangers of drug abuse and trafficking. Ghana's National Day
Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was celebrated on
June 27, in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. Although treatment
programs have lagged behind preventative education and
enforcement due to lack of funding, there are three
government psychiatric hospitals receiving drug patients, and
three private facilities in Accra, run by local NGOs, also
assisting drug abusers.
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U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs
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U.S. Goals and Objectives
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19. The USG's counter-narcotics and anticrime goals in Ghana
are to strengthen Ghanaian law enforcement capacity
generally, to improve interdiction capacities, to enhance the
NCB's office and field operation functions, and to reduce
Ghana's role as a transit point for narcotics.
Bilateral Cooperation
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20. In 2002, the United States provided the Government of
Ghana with $84,000 worth of counter-narcotics assistance in
the form of surveillance and detection equipment, including
two narcotics detection devices (&itemizers8) installed at
Kotoka International Airport in December 2003. Similar
equipment funded in FY2000 and FY2001 is effectively
maintained and has facilitated a number of drug arrests and
seizures. FY2002 funding provided training for the Police and
CEPS to create Internal Affairs Units, which will assist in
suppressing corruption and strengthening their capacity to
interdict illegal drugs. FY2002 money also funded a
four-week, interagency counter-narcotics training focusing on
drug interdiction at Ghana,s air and sea ports, which took
place in November 2004.

The Road Ahead
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21. Improved narcotics interdiction, investigative
capabilities, and prosecutorial successes sum up the USG's
major policy goals. A focus on improved oversight of
financial transactions is a particular concern, given the
potential for any narcotics financial networks to be used by
terrorist organizations.
LANIER